Spring 2015
Cashier Training
Talking Points
• Interpreting bills
• Financial aid review and bookstore &
REFUNDS
• Running bills for CE students ***NEW***
• Payment plans
• Tuition estimate template
• Reprinting receipts
• Test-out procedure
Interpreting Bills
Interpreting bills
Interpreting bills is one of the most important functions
for which we are responsible.
When interpreting bills, there are four primary
categories to evaluate:
• Fixed fees
• Variable fees
• Course/modality-specific fees
• Adjustments
Interpreting bills
Fixed fees
Fixed fees are fees that are charged a specific amount, typically
once per semester. This type of fee is not subject to the refund
schedule published in our catalog once classes have begun.
Exceptions would be for complete drops and/or drops for
nonpayment.
Examples of fixed fees:
• Registration fee - $48 charged once per semester
• Dorm rent - $900 charged once per semester
• Meal plan fee - Varies based on type of meal plan
Interpreting bills
Variable fees
Variable fees are fees that are charged based on the
enrollment of a student, or how many credit hours a
student is taking. These fees are subject to the refund
schedule published in the catalog.
Examples of variable fees:
• Tuition - $70 per semester credit hour
• Out of district - $62 per semester credit hour
• General use fee - $15 per semester credit hour
Interpreting bills
Course/modality-specific fees
These types of fees are tied to either the mode of delivery of
the course or the course itself. They are refundable according
to the schedule published in the catalog.
Examples of course/modality-specific fees:
• Health science program fee - $250 once per semester
• Internet fee - $53 per course taken via Internet
• Distance learning fee - $50 per course taken via distance
• Course fee - varies by course
Interpreting bills
Adjustments
Adjustments are entries made to prior charges. They use
identical transaction codes and depending on the date will
credit in the amount according to the refund schedule.
Examples of adjustments you may see:
• Four hours of tuition at 70% = 280 (70 x 4) x 70% = 196.00
• Health science fee at 70% = 250 x 70% = 175.00
• Internet fee at 25% = 53 x 25% = 13.25
Interpreting bills
Interpreting bills
• Billing activity can be viewed within the
RECEIPT menu
• Entries are in date order and include all debits
and credits
• Can be tough to follow
• The STATUS option may be your best friend
Interpreting bills
Accessible from the main menu, the STATUS
option is a helpful tool for breaking down
activity by its respective semester. STATUS can
be used to view term (semester) activity or all
activity for a student. The option is available to
either display your results to the screen or print
them to a defined printer.
Interpreting bills
Interpreting bills
1. Press enter once if you
want to display your
results to your screen.
2. At Status: Option?, use
“term” to view only
transactions for a
specific term.
3. At the next prompt,
input your desired
termcode.
4. Last, enter the ID
number you wish to
view.
Interpreting bills
Interpreting bills
• The results of the STATUS report can be
printed in addition to being displayed on
screen
• You must define your printer name
• Create a new version when prompted, and
choose paper type “Normal”
• Go through the process and print
Financial Aid Review
Financial aid review
• Fun fact
– Did you know that state, federal, and local financial aid
awards accounted for $5.8 million of our tuition and
auxiliary revenue in FY14?
• This doesn’t even include loans!
Financial aid review
• You can view a student’s financial aid
information via the RECEIPT menu
• You can view information for the entire
academic year
– To view a prior academic year, change the
termcode when you enter the RECEIPT menu
• Use /rev command once in student’s account
Financial aid review
Financial aid review
Financial aid review
Financial aid review
• The first two columns are descriptions of the fund ID
and the semester awarded
• The Disperse column (aka Net) displays how much
aid is eligible for transmittal
• The award column is the gross amount
• Transmitted is how much has posted to account
• Remaining is the difference of the Disperse minus
the Transmitted
Financial aid review
• For some awards, the Disperse column adjusts based
on the enrollment of a student
• This student is enrolled ¾ time and is eligible for ¾ of
the award amount ($2,865 x ¾ = 2,149 rounded up)
• Not all awards adjust in this fashion
– Loans do not adjust (student must be in 6 hours)
– TPEG only requires 9 hours to receive the full award
– See Financial Aid Billing Definitions file for further info
Financial aid review
Financial aid review
• Loans require special handling
• All Direct Loans require two disbursements
– A student with a loan in fall and spring will receive one disbursement
in each semester
– A student with a single-term-only loan (example) will receive two
disbursements 30 days apart
– Take award amount less 1% origination fee and divide by 2 to estimate
each disbursement ($1,500 – 1% ($15.00) = $1,485 / 2 = $742
Financial aid review
• At the beginning of the semester, the Disperse
amount is always zero
• THIS DOES NOT MEAN THE STUDENT HAS NO LOAN
AVAILABLE
– The funds are available for use at the bookstore and will be
applied toward bill after the disbursement process has
been completed by the business and financial aid offices
– Be sure to factor in estimated loans (award amount minus
1%) when working up installment plans for students
Financial aid review
• If a student has a zero balance, the amounts
displayed in the remaining column can be used to
provide an estimate for the refund the student will
receive
– Do not include workstudy awards in any estimates (FCWS,
TCWS, CWSP, etc)
– Be sure to check the Financial Aid Billing Definitions file if
providing an estimate for a student enrolled less than full
time
Financial aid review
• If a student DOES NOT have a zero balance, the
amounts displayed in the remaining column can be
used to provide an estimate for the refund the
student will receive.
– Example: Student has $600 balance and zero in remaining
columns. However, he does still have the second
disbursement of his loan, or $742. $600 balance less $742
loan will create a credit of $142 on his account. This is the
estimated refund amount.
Financial aid review
Financial aid review
• We no longer have to provide validated
statements for bookstore charging (Hooray!)
– The Texas Book Co system interfaces with POISE
each morning with updated financial aid balances
– A student who is awarded after this process will
not have available funds in the TBC system
– Pay close attention to the award dates before
sending a student to the bookstore
Financial aid review
• Refunds
– Refunds of financial aid are part of a multi-step
process completed by our two departments
– Learn the “lingo” to better understand the process
and convey the information to our students
Financial aid review
REFUND FLOW CHART
AWARD
ORIGINATION
DISBURSEMENT
REFUND
Financial aid review
REFUND FLOW CHART
AWARD
The process starts when Financial Aid awards
students based on the results of their FAFSA. No
financial aid will be awarded without a completed
FAFSA, so remember to stress its importance when
dealing with students asking how to pay for college.
Financial aid review
REFUND FLOW CHART
ORIGINATION
On census date, students are locked into their
hours. This provides a snapshot for financial aid.
This snapshot is used to validate students and
determine their eligibility for state and federal
financial aid.
Financial aid review
REFUND FLOW CHART
DISBURSEMENT
After students have been verified as eligible, all
financial aid awards not yet applied toward student
accounts are liquidated. It is at this time that
financial aid requests our Pell and Texas grant
funds. Contrary to popular belief, we do not yet
have the funds at this point in the process.
Financial aid review
REFUND FLOW CHART
REFUNDS
Once funds are available to draw, refunds are
worked up for students. Refunds on Cougar Cards
are processed first and are followed by refund
checks.
Running Bills for CE Students
Running bills for CE students
• This is a new function
• Students are charged by the course
– Fees are defined for each course similar to course fees for
SCH students
– Codes 60000 – 69998 are used
– Bills are charged to the students account and then
payment can be taken (No more payments in the 9s!)
– Pay by FACTS available
– No 1098-T for CE fees
Running bills for CE students
Use “Q” instead of “S”
when running a bill for a
CE student.
Q is used since CE is on a
quarter system instead of
a semester system
YY1Q – First Quarter
YY2Q – Second Quarter
YY3Q – Third Quarter
YY4Q – Fourth Quarter
Running bills for CE students
The statement for a CE
student looks similar to
the bills you are used to
You will see the
student’s demographic
info and the schedule
for the quarter
Running bills for CE students
You will see the
charges associated
with the course, and
then the payment
activity after it has
been made
Running bills for CE students
• IMPORTANT
– This procedure will only work if all conditions have
been met
• Course has been created
• Student is in POISE
• Student is registered for course
Running bills for CE students
• If the student is in POISE and needs to be
registered for the class, please assist them
– Contact a CE representative if you need help in
determining the correct section to register
• If the student is not in POISE, please assist
them in completing the CBC application
– https://sis.coastalbend.edu/cc4_scripts/cc4_server.exe
Running bills for CE students
• If the desired course section is not available, please
collect the student’s contact information so that a CE
representative can follow up with them once the
course is ready
–
–
–
–
–
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Katie Sherman, Director
Suzie Gaitan, Allied Health
Jenny Moore, General Industry
Debbie Cadena, CE Assistant
Yvette Hotchkin, CE Assistant
Linda Tyrone-Williams, CE Assistant
Ext 1203
Ext 2549
Ext 1212
Ext 3039
Ext 1209
Ext 2310
Payment Plans
Payment Plans
• Fun fact
– Did you know that over 300 students took advantage of
our flexible in-house payment plans during the Spring
2015 semester?
• This generated nearly $9,000 in additional revenue
(installment fees)
• These auxiliary fees are part of what funds student
activities such as student government, Phi Theta Kappa,
and the various clubs at each CBC location
Payment plans
• Setting up payment plans is an essential job function for a
cashier
• Payment plans allow more students the opportunity to attend
classes and pay according to a schedule they can afford
• A signed installment agreement should be completed for all
students participating on a payment plan
– Allows us to track outstanding payment plans
– Provides the specific terms for the payment plan
Payment plans
• Be sure to assess the $25 installment plan fee each time you
setup a payment plan
• Save the completed and signed payment plan to the
corresponding folder in Dropbox
• Give a copy of the plan and the Terms and Conditions to the
student
– This will help the student and whoever will be taking the
future payments
Tuition Estimate Worksheet
Tuition estimate worksheet
• A useful tool for providing price quotes for new or current
students
• Estimate can be provided for in-district, out-of-district, out-ofstate and even dual enrollment students
• Can be printed out to give students an official, professional
looking estimate
• Can be saved and emailed to students
• Define number of hours, number of internet courses, and a
course fee estimate and the rest is history!
Tuition estimate worksheet
Reprinting Receipts
Reprinting receipts
• Receipts for payments that have posted can be reprinted so
long as the payments have not been rolled into history
– This typically only happens every 2-3 years
• When accessing a student’s account via the RECEIPT menu,
use the /rep command to reprint a receipt
– Depending on your keyboard, you will hit either End or Home to
reprint the receipt you select
• Activity detail reports can be printed using the STATUS or BILL
options
Reprinting receipts
Reprinting receipts
Reprinting receipts
Test Out Subject Competency Petition
Test out subject competency petition
A service that is being further developed for
students is the option to “test out” of taking a
course.
• A student who tests out does not actually take the
course
• A subject test is administered
• Students earning a grade of “C” or better are
considered to have tested out successfully
Test out subject competency petition
Students who successfully test out
have two options
• Receive competency in the subject
• Receive transcripted college credit for the
course equivalent for the test
Test out subject competency petition
Top two sections should be
completed before the student visits
business office
Business office will initial and date
when testing fee is paid
Business office will initial and date
when credit by exam fee is paid
Test out subject competency petition
Student completes initial portion of petition form
and get appropriate approvals
Student pays $25 testing fee at business
office. Takes receipt to testing center
Results for a
student choosing
competency are
sent by testing
center to
Registrar’s office.
Student tests. Results are recorded on
petition.
Competency/Credit
Student requesting
credit will pay fee
of $60 per credit
hour, plus any
course fees.
Business office will
forward receipt and
results to Registar’s
office.
Test out subject competency petition
• Taking payment
–Testing fee
• Use the following codes
– Beeville
– Alice
– Kingsville
– Pleasanton
– Debit/Credit Card
90048
96048
97048
98048
95048
Test out subject competency petition
• Taking payment
–Course credit fee
• $60 per credit hour, plus any course fees
specified by faculty/dean
• Example: WLDG1307 – Intro to Welding
–Three credit hour course (2nd numeric digit)
–($60 x 3) + course fee ($100 in this case)
Test out subject competency petition
• Taking payment
–Course credit fee
• Use the following codes
– Beeville
– Alice
– Kingsville
– Pleasanton
– Debit/Credit Card
90049
96049
97049
98049
95049
Spring 2015 Cashier Training
• Fun fact
– CBC cashiers have combined for over $1.3 million in tuition and fee
receipts from September 1, 2014 through February 18, 2015.
• Your efforts are extremely important and very appreciated
• Call or email me with any comments or questions
– Ext 2242
– dbenavidez@coastalbend.edu